93% of juvenile gang members in Orange County are Latino

Gang membership among Orange County children jumped by nearly 50 percent in 2007, according to an annual county report on conditions for children. The rise is mostly in Hispanic gangs. In 1998, three-fourths of juvenile gang members were Latino; in the new report, that number was 93%. And 14% of all gang members are 17 years old or younger – up from 11% in 2006, and up from 10% in 1998.